The question is why doesn't media cover immigration as much? We have come to a conclusion that the media doesn't talk about immigration as much due to the presidential elections. It was once an important issue but as the new presidential nominees stepped into the scene the importance of immigration coverage went down. According to the recent report on the news coverage of immigration, "In 2007 the immigration debate was the leading story at 12% of the newshole. Coverage was down in every media sector from the second to third quarter to 2% from 5% in newspapers, to 4% from 7% in cable, to 2% from 9% in radio, to 1% from 3% online, and to 1% from 4% in network TV" (www.journalism.org, "Immigration Retreats to the Shadows") What this is saying is that in the begining of 2007 at least 12% of news media found immigration an important topic, but as the new year came so did the presidential campaigns and the percentage of immigration coverage went down.
The media would rather cover a controversy or simple story that doesn't affect people in any way. Celebrities, sports, and news events flood the words of news reporters. What about the crisis and issues your average person deals with everyday? Why isn't it an importance to the media? The media is expected to be positively influential to their audience. Covering a topic that doesn't affect a mojority of their intended audience can become a risk to their ratings and profits. The media runs on their ratings because it brings in profits. Nike wouldn't pay for air time if their sponsors are revealing the sweat shops Nike runs in other countries. All the media can do is show positivity about their sponsors and air nonsense about celebrities or small stories. Even if they were trying to get down to the truth of a controversy, they wouldn't reveal the whole truth.
Now we have the issues about the presidential nominees. They maybe once or twice talked about the immigration isssue, but suddenly that topic has been silenced. How are we supposed to know who to vote for when we don't know where the candidate stands on certain topics? As students of immigrants and as eligible voters, we still want to know what the future plans are for immigration. If this topic is always hushed, how are we supposed to be convinced about the person we are voting for? Are we the forgotten audience in this campaign?
The media would rather cover a controversy or simple story that doesn't affect people in any way. Celebrities, sports, and news events flood the words of news reporters. What about the crisis and issues your average person deals with everyday? Why isn't it an importance to the media? The media is expected to be positively influential to their audience. Covering a topic that doesn't affect a mojority of their intended audience can become a risk to their ratings and profits. The media runs on their ratings because it brings in profits. Nike wouldn't pay for air time if their sponsors are revealing the sweat shops Nike runs in other countries. All the media can do is show positivity about their sponsors and air nonsense about celebrities or small stories. Even if they were trying to get down to the truth of a controversy, they wouldn't reveal the whole truth.
Now we have the issues about the presidential nominees. They maybe once or twice talked about the immigration isssue, but suddenly that topic has been silenced. How are we supposed to know who to vote for when we don't know where the candidate stands on certain topics? As students of immigrants and as eligible voters, we still want to know what the future plans are for immigration. If this topic is always hushed, how are we supposed to be convinced about the person we are voting for? Are we the forgotten audience in this campaign?
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Immigration coverage: